MAIN CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM
On the way of their development, business organisations face a lot of challenges whose character can vary during the company’s lifespan.
Although the main challenges are always there no matter how long the company is on the market.
Here we will discuss just some of them.
They refer to the business organisations which are in the very beginning of their establishment as well as to those which have been working for years.
Challenge N 1. Finding Customers
That is the most important problem for all business organisations because if there are no customers for the products and services produced by the company, this business is going to fail very soon.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small businesses fail by the end of their first year due to the lack of the customers or their total absence.
Due to the same reason, by the end of their fifth year, 50% of small business go under, and by the tenth year, that number rises to 80%.
In fact, lack of customers or their absence is the sign of other issues experienced by the company which can be conditioned by wrong strategies of the business development, management failure and so on, but here we will talk about a need for customers.
How To Fix It
In fact the question should be changed from “How To Find a Customer?” to “What To Suggest To Meet the Needs of the Customers?”
If a company comes to the market with a ready made product or a set of services without analysing the market and real needs of the target community, the business idea is going to fail.
In a better case, it will take a long time for a company to make their product and services known in the community.
Assuming that “known” means recognisable, and if recognisable, it means purchasable, after becoming known (in a positive sense), a company can get their customers.
Therefore, in case one is planning to open a business, they should have a clear idea which needs of the market they are going to cover with their products and services, and which gaps they can deal with in contrast to other organisations which produce the same or similar products or services.
Apart from the knowledge about the local needs and pains, a business must have a clear concept about their potential customers. Their age, social and educational background, culture and daily routines, likes and dislikes, – everything will be helpful to create a portrait of an ideal customer who will be in need of the company’s products and services.
Once you’ve built a portrait of your ideal customer, you can begin creating or shaping your product and services according to your target audience, using the channels they are in, with the messages which will appeal to their needs.
Challenge N2. Increasing Brand Awareness
In fact, this challenge should be considered as the first one, because if nobody knows about you, nobody will come to you to buy anything. As simple as that.
That is why to start with the business or to boost its development, you have to speak about it.
You can communicate your business ideas personally at the meetings or conferences, at the formal and informal gatherings, but what is more important is that you and your company should be always visible online via posts and sharing about your activities, projects, ideas and even life style.
In this way, we came up to the solutions which can fix a problem of your brand awareness.
How To Fix It
Nowadays, social media channels are the most powerful instrument for marketing, establishing your brand and making it known not only locally but also internationally.
The only thing which you should remember is that direct advertising may not work as it used to. Posting adds in social media may not be enough though may take lots of investment.
Nowadays people are looking for something which can be beneficial for them in terms of content, great ideas, experiences, opportunities and so on. The content produced on those topics can attract much more attention than annoying advertisement posts.
Constant online presence through useful contents, tips, cases, frameworks which create more opportunities are the keys for developing your brand awareness, its recognisability and, consequently, a trustworthy for partnering and buying your products and services.
Challenge N 3. Managing Organisation and Workflow
This challenge can be especially actual for small businesses which do not have enough resources for investing them into employment and keeping employees on a constant basis.
Very often, a business owner has to combine the responsibilities of the head manager with all other possible roles which are demanded by the workflow.
On the other hand, it is quite risky to employ more people if the company doesn’t have a solid financial background and even more solid perspective plans for income.
How to Fix It
Outsourcing is still working and can be very much helpful for the temporarily duties or short-term projects. In this case you can think about outsourcing different types of services or work which are not the main subject of your business.
For example, the services on content development about your company or products can be provided by other companies and organisations which are professional in this filed.
They can produce contents more creatively and quicker than you.
Without proper experience in graphic design and communication, with limited network of potential customers and communication channels, it may take you much longer to produce at least anything which would be more or less acceptable at the level of an open access, in a line with other brands which are much more recognisable than your business.
Think about your business and your capacities critically.
Make a list of the services which should be definitely under your strict control and those which can be outsourced to other providers. Make plans and work accordingly.
Apart from outsourcing, you can think about partnerships.
These can be established with other companies and organisations which have more potentials in the zones where you are not strong enough. In such frameworks, you can add to the work of those organisations with your products and services which would be of help for their better functioning.
With such a win-win scheme, all parties can benefit with mutually added value for enhancing the work of their organisations without extra investments.
Looking in the same direction for a better growth and development, such partnerships can bring more benefits that employing individual workers.
Challenge N 4. Business Mindset and Striving For Success
This challenge should be put in the very first place because it is the main reason why business organisations fail in the very beginning or stay alive for just a few years without a significant breakthrough.
Turning from the employment mindset to the mindset of a business person is the most critical for establishing a business and even more important for its durability.
A business mindset needs an absolutely different approach to life, work, relations and communications.
To become a successful business person after graduating from university or after leaving a permanent job place needs lots of training to be received from experts who are already successful in the business world.
Unfortunately traditional educational establishments do not develop skills of leading a business nor the skills of transferring your knowledge and capacities into services and products purchasable at the market.
How To Fix It
Practical training about business, learning business psychology, shaping your own professional skills, developing an idea about marketing, shaping skills of planning and developing habits of taking responsibilities are the needs to cope with if you want to prepare yourself for a long trip toward success in a business world.
In our Business Psychology Centre psychologists and business trainers work with organisations and individuals for developing their understanding of themselves, their strong sides and skills which can be turned into business products and services.
The trainings on marketing, management and leadership, relations in organisations and the organisation’s relations with other companies and customers are just some topics which should be learned and trained on with special tactics and approaches.
Theories do not help to develop skills.
Experience and practice are the keys to developing new habits which will be helpful for business and its sustainability.
Personal sustainability of the business owners and its leaders create a sustainable environment for better productivity and higher achievements.
With this foundation to be set firmly and reliably, all other issues, like finding customers or developing a brand, will become just some little things which solve by themselves in a flow of work and productive creativity.
